|
COUNTRY,
BLUEGRASS & OLD-TIMEY
Doug Sahm
-> Ricky Skaggs
| DOUG SAHM |
Tornado 002 |
The Return Of Wayne Douglas |
● CD $16.98 |
12 tracks, 45 mins, recommended The last recordings of the
legendary Texan is a collection of straight ahead Texas country honky-tonk
imbued with Doug's patented Tex-Mex sensibilities. 10 of the 12 songs are
Sahm originals - the two non-originals include an unexpected but splendid
version of Dylan's Love Minus Zero/No Limit and Leon Payne's
classic honky tonk ballad They'll Never Take Her Love From Me. Doug
is accompanied by a fine band including excellent steel guitar from Tommy
Detamore and fiddle by Bobby Flores. Former bandmate Augie Meyers
contributes piano or organ on several tracks. (FS)
|
| TOMMY SCOTT |
Collector 2854 |
Early Recordings |
● CD $16.98 |
27 early sides from the 40s and early 50s from a variety of
labels including Tommys own Katona label
|
| MIKE SEEGER |
Rounder 0278 |
Solo-oldtime Country Music |
● CD $15.98 |
|
| MIKE SEEGER |
Smithsonian Folkways 40107 |
Southern Banjo Sounds |
● CD $15.98 |
26 tracks, 65 minutes, recommended. Fantastic collection of
rural Southern banjo music characterized by Seeger's respectful and
affectionate approach to traditional music. The result is a wide ranging
and fascinating tour through the many musical styles associated with the
banjo, everything from clawhammer to the 3 finger picking style
popularized by Earl Scruggs, with a surprising number of variations in
between. It's just Seeger and his instrument here, but monotony is avoided
as nearly every tune features a different type of banjo, many of which are
illustrated in the many color photos found in the extensive booklet.
Fellow banjo players will particularly value this disk as Seeger includes
extensive notes detailing tunings, picking styles, and technique, but all
fans of old time country music will enjoy this impressive project. (DP)
|
| MIKE SEEGER &
FRIENDS |
Rounder 0262 |
Fresh Oldtime String Band Music |
● CD $15.98 |
Delightful, provocative album of oldtimey music with a
difference- Mike Seeger in his liner notes speaks of exploring
"alternative ways that the music might have been played or ways that
it might still be developed without losing it's country feel or
spontaneity." On this album, he and his cohorts succeed admirably in
theses goals, using unusual instrumentation and arrangements of familiar
forms and tunes to breathe new life into them, managing at the same time
to maintain the root feeling of the pieces. "Poor Black Sheep",
"Ten Broeck and Mollie", "Cotton Eyed Joe", and
"Billy in the Lowground" (which becomes "Billy in
Waynesboro") are among the familiar songs and tunes explored. Seeger
is abetted in his old timey alchemy by The Agents of Terra, Norman and
Nancy Blake, The Horseflies, Alan Jabbour, James Bryan, and other
revivalists of American string music. Recommended to the traditionalist
and reform minded alike.(RP)
|
| SELDOM SCENE |
Rebel 1101 |
The Best Of The Seldom Scene |
● CD $15.98 |
|
|
| SELDOM SCENE |
Rebel 1103 |
Live At The Cellar Door |
● CD $15.98 |
The group's most popular album now available on CD.
|
| SELDOM SCENE |
Rebel 1528 |
Act 3 |
● CD $15.98 |
Reissue of 1973 album, with guests Ricky Skaggs and Clayton
Hambrick. 12 cuts.
|
| SELDOM SCENE |
Rebel 1536 |
Old Train |
● CD $15.98 |
Wiith guests Linda Ronstadt and Ricky Skaggs.
|
| SELDOM SCENE |
Sugar Hill 2202 |
15th Anniversary Celebration |
● CD $15.98 |
2-LP complete on one CD, over seventy minutes recorded live
at the Kennedy Center.
|
| SELDOM SCENE |
Sugar Hill 2501 |
Scene 20 - 20th Anniversary Concert |
● CD $25.98 |
| Two CD set.
|
| SELDOM SCENE |
Sugar Hill 3736 |
At The Scene |
● CD $15.98 |
First CD issue of this album from 1983. This edition of the
Seldom Scene includes the vocals and guitar of Phil Rosenthal along with
the contribution of longtime Scene stalwarts Tom Gray, Ben Eldridge, Mike
Auldridge, and John Duffey. 10 selections in all, including four Rosenthal
originals and the usual eclectic song selection, sharp instrumental work,
and tight harmonies that have always marked this band's work. My personal
favorite here is the country ballad It Turns Me Inside Out
featuring Duffey's aching tenor vocal and great harmony. Also includes A
Girl I Know/ Jamaica/ Say You Will/ Open Up The Window, Noah/ Winter Wind
and Born Of The Wind.
RP
|
| SELDOM SCENE |
Sugar Hill 3763 |
A Change Of Scenery |
● CD $15.98 |
|
| MACK SELF |
Gee-Dee 270130 |
Vibrate |
● CD $19.98 |
Country and rockabilly from this Arkansas performer
including all his Sun sides plus cuts from the 60s and 70s.
|
| THE SHADY GROVE BAND |
Flying Fish 639 |
The Chapel Hillbilly Way |
● CD $15.98 |
Good time bluegrass band from Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
|
| SHAVER |
New West 6003 |
Victory |
● CD $16.98 |
12 tracks, 37 mins, highly recommended. Terrific new all
acoustic album by the talented Billy Joe Shaver accompanied by son Eddie.
He recycles some songs from his previous albums including Live Forever/
If I Give My Soul / Old Five And Dimers and others which have a
different feel in this acoustic setting. There are some excellent new
songs, often with a flavor, including You Can't Beat Jesus Christ/ My
Mother's Name Is Victory/ Presents From The Past, and my favorite, the
tender and beautiful I'm In Love. The album opens with an acapella
song Son Of Calvary. Wonderful stuff. (FS)
|
| SHAVER |
New West 6007 |
Electric Shaver |
● CD $16.98 |
|
| SHAVER |
Volcano 31063 |
Tramp On Your Street |
● CD $16.98 |
13 tracks, 48 mins, essential. Quite simply, this is one
fantastic disc! In the 1970s, Texas-born Billy Joe Shaver was a poet
laureate of the "Outlaw", the man responsible for all but
one song on Waylon Jennings's first great album
Honky Tonk Heroes and creator of other anthems like Ain't No God in
Mexico. This, only his second album in ten years, issued under the
name Shaver, features help from Al Kooper, Waylon and Shaver's son Eddy, a
potent guitarist in his own right. All the songs are Shaver originals,
much of them drawing on his own life and philosophy - he's been through it
all and it shows. His singing is gritty and soulful and the band is
sensational - guitarist Eddy can rock as hard as the best of them or can
play a beautiful acoustic melody. Billy Joe tackles plain-spoken,
picturesque originals like Heart of Texas, and I'm Gonna Live
Forever, with guest vocals from Waylon. Just as good are Oklahoma
Wind and the Tex-Mex Take A Chance on Romance. Good Ol' USA
is Shaver's surrealistic approximation of the Ernest Tubb sound of the
forties. The title song, possibly the highlight here, reminisces about his
ten mile walk to see Hank Williams when he was young and how that shaped
his view of the role of traveling singer. He sounds revitalized on the
new versions of Shaver standards I Been to Georgia on A Fast Train
and I'm Just An Old Chunk of Coal (But I'm Gonna Be A Diamond Someday),
best known through John Anderson's 1981 hit. Though the songs are often
serious they are never pretentious and you will hear some of the most
glorious melodies in a long time. With the "new traditionalist"
movement sinking into predictable mediocrity this disc of gritty realism
comes as a breath of fresh air - or maybe a howling Texas wind would be
more appropriate. Already on both our Top Ten of 1993 lists. (RK/ FS)
|
| SHAVER |
Volcano 31104 |
Unshaven : Shaver Live At Smith's Old Bar |
● CD $16.98 |
12 cuts, 46 mins, recommended How do you follow up a
once-in-a-lifetime record? "Tramp on Your Street" was a grand, deep summation of
matchless singer and songwriter Billy Joe Shaver's concerns, with son Eddy
Shaver's alternately delicate and purposefully ferocious six-string
grafted atop. Rather than try to repeat, father and son stepped sideways
and cut a live album in January. Four songs from "Tramp On Your
Street" are reprised here, as well as tough remakes of early classics
like Honky Tonk Heroes and Black Rose. It doesn't take the
pair any further than "Tramp On Your Street", but the playing is
hot, the performances committed and loose. (JG)
|
| BILLY JOE SHAVER |
Bear Family BCD 15775 |
Hony Tonk Heroes |
● CD $21.98 |
25 cuts, 79 min, recommended Sometimes Richard Weize really
picks 'em. In the wake of the acclaim garnered by Shaver's 1993
"Tramp On Your Street", album , Bear's reissued both his 1976
Capricorn LPs, a 1974 MGM single and an unreleased MGM recording on one
CD. Though he wrote many of his greatest numbers back then, his own
recording career had its share of problems. The MGM material was quite
respectable. The first Capricorn album wasn't bad, particularly Ride Me
Down Easy Woman Is the Wonder of the World and When the Word
Was Thunderbird. His patriotic number, America You Are My Woman
is one of the few country patriotic songs that doesn't go completely
overboard. Jimmy Guterman makes a good point about Shaver's second
Capricorn effort, "Gypsy Boy". A few fine performances shined
through, most notably I'm Going Crazy in 3/4 Time (with Emmylou and
Rodney Crowell singing harmony) and You Asked Me To. The problem
with this one was Brian Ahern, whose main focus in those days was
producing then-wife Emmylou Harris, and didn't know what to do with Billy
Joe. According to Shaver, who Guterman interviewed for this set, genius
Ahern wouldn't even let Shaver record some of his old songs (he rejected
the now-classic I'm Just An Old Chunk Of Coal). Aside from hearing
Shaver in the Outlaw days, the set makes a couple of points: one, the
Monument material needs reissuing and two, Shaver didn't make the record
of his career for nearly 20 years after these recordings. (RK)
|
| BILLY JOE SHAVER |
Koch 7904 |
I'm Just And Old Chunk Of Coal |
● CD $11.98 |
Reissue of 1980 album by this brilliant and influential
performer.
|
| BILLY JOE SHAVER |
Koch 7938 |
Old Five And Dimers Like Me |
● CD $11.98 |
Reissue of Monument 32293 from 1973 produced by Kris
Kristofferson with two bonus unissued cuts.
|
| JAMES ALAN SHELTON |
Copper Creek 178 |
Guitar Tracks |
● CD $15.98 |
Fine all instrumental album featuring 13 old time and
bluegrass tunes played by the talented lead guitarist for Ralph Stanley's
Clinch Mountain Boys. He is accompanied by several fellow band members on Sugarfoot
Rag/ Barbara Allen/ The Ghost Train/ Road Weary Blues/ Snow Deer/ Rosewood
Casket, etc.
|
| THE SHELTON BROTHERS |
Cattle 241 |
Down On the Farm |
● CD $18.98 |
Collection of 25 sides by this excellent duo recorded
between 1935 and 1940. A mixture of blues, novelty songs, western flavored
songs, risque songs (Knot Hole Blues is particularly raunchy) and
sentimental songs with varied accompaniments including Cliff Bruner, Bob
Dunn, Felton Harkness and others. Songs include Down On The Farm/ I'm
Here To Get My Baby Out Of Jail/ Alone With My Sorrows/ Ace In the Hole/
Don't Leave Me All Alone and more.
|
| JEAN SHEPARD |
Bear Family BCD 15905 |
The Melody Ranch Girl |
● CD $129.98 |
5 CDs, 151 tracks, recommended. Anyone who bought the Country
Music Foundation's Jean Shepard CD and wanted more can have it with this,
her complete Capitol output from 1952 through 1964 (she stayed on the
label until 1972). One can hear her go from teenaged singer on her first
unsuccessful single, Crying Steel Guitar Waltz, with Speedy West on
steel, to hit artist. The breakthrough came when Capitol producer Ken
Nelson teamed her with Ferlin Husky, who'd also had no hits, Their 1953
ballad A Dear John Letter was the breakthrough for both. After time
in Missouri and Texas, Shepard moved to Nashville and joined the Opry in
1955. Until 1958, she still recorded in L.A. with some of Bakersfield's
best sidemen (including Buck Owens on guitar). All her hits during these
12 years are included, Forgive Me John with Ferlin, A Satisfied
Mind, Beautiful Lies and I Thought of You, Second
Fiddle (To An Old Guitar), and everything else in between, including a
dozen previously unreleased tracks. All of her albums in this period, from
her pioneering 1956 concept LP "Songs of A Love Affair", the
chronicle of a broken relationship from a woman's standpoint through her
eventual recovery. Other LPs encompassed by the collection are
"Lonesome Love", "Lighthearted and Blue", "Got
You On My Mind", "It's A Man Every Time", "Heartaches
and Tears" and "This Is Jean Shepard" also appear.
Naturally, the sound is outstanding, as is the 35 page booklet, which
features many rare photos and memorabilia, a complete discography and an
outstanding essay by Chris Skinker. (RK)
|
| ARKIE SHIBLEY |
Collector 2856 |
Hot Rod Race |
● CD $16.98 |
25 cuts from late 40s/ early 50s including several versions
of the title song - his only hit and some fine guitar instrumentals
|
| GEORGE SHUFFLER |
Freeland 657 |
Cross Pickin' |
● CD $15.98 |
Entertaining, though absurdly short (less than 19 minutes!)
collection of traditional religious songs performed by country guitarist
best known for his work with The Stanley Brothers and then Ralph Stanley.
Songs include Will You Miss Me/ Life's Railway To Heaven/ The Promise/
Lonely Tombs/ Little Rosewood Casket and five more performed in his
unique "cross-picking" style.
|
| JIM SILVERS |
Bear Family BCD 15555 |
Music Makin' Mama From Memphis |
● CD $21.98 |
"Colonel" Jim Silvers, press agent, actor,
auctioneer, aspiring opera singer and distant relative of King Records
founder Syd Nathan, was an eccentric and eclectic performer whose entire
legacy consists of two LPs, done in 1978 and 1981 for the CMH and About
labels, respectively. They were ahead of their time, hinting at the sound
of people like Dwight Yoakam. Indeed, associated with Silvers were
Brantley Kearns, who fiddled with Dwight's band and guitarist-producer
Richard Bennett, who produced and played on the material here before he
caught on with Steve Earle, Marty Stuart and Emmylou Harris. Ray Campi
slapped bass on the sessions for the About label, produced at Ronny
Weiser's Rollin' Rock Studio by Bennett. Silvers was ahead of his time. He
combined his own numbers with such country standards as Elton Britt's Cannonball
Yodel, the Louvins' Cash on the Barrelhead, Kirk McGee's Blue
Night and the Flatt and Scruggs/Ricky Skaggs hit Cryin' My Heart
Out Over You (the latter done R & B style) His own numbers deserve
better than they got. I Ate the Whole Damn Hog is a strong
rockabilly performance while the delightfully screwy honkytonker Call
Me A Cab should be covered by Marty Brown or Aaron Tippin. Neither LP
sold at the time, but Silvers had a sound that anticipated things to come.
The idea of doing a sort of mainstream country- bluegrass fusion with
strong elements of rock became quite the hot item by the mid-eighties
(partly through people like Steve Earle). However, Silvers's image was so
unconventional that he couldn't have been molded into the standard country
image any more than Steve Earle, one of those who benefited from Bennett's
experience with Silvers. Dale Vinicur's notes tell Silvers' story, which
is about as interesting and idiosyncratic as the music itself. (RK)
|
| SHEL SILVERSTEIN |
Flying Fish 211 |
The Great Conch Train Robbery |
● CD $15.98 |
Original songs - with Sam Bush, D.J. Fontana, Josh Graves,
etc
|
| RICKY SKAGGS |
Epic EK 40623 |
Comin' Home To Stay |
● CD $9.98 |
"You can count on one thing, I've come back home to
stay!" says Ricky on the sleeve of his new LP, and thanks his fans
for "staying with me through some trial and error." Well, Ricky
is about half way home, judging fropm the music offered here.. Production
values are high, and musicianship is uniformly excellent, if uninspired.
The songs, with the exception of Hold Whatcha Got, San Antonio
Rose, and (Angel On MY Mind) That's Why I'm Walkin',are slick and
saccharine. There's no fire in this album, with the excxeption of Bobby
Hicks' fiddling on San Antonio Rose, and even J.D. Crowe's banjo licks
on Hold Whatcha Got are hokey. With all the recent talk returning to
"roots" music, one would hope that Ricky (one of the "rootsiest"
musicians around, and one of the best) would heed the call and make a real
homecoming LP. This one's for the urban cowboy crowd. (RP)
|
| RICKY SKAGGS |
Rounder 0151 |
Family & Friends |
● CD $15.98 |
Fine album includes Ricky's parents Hobert & Dorothy -
plus Peter Rowan, Bobby Hicks, Jerry Douglas and others on a selection of
acoustic country music
|
| RICKY SKAGGS
& KEITH WHITLEY |
Rebel 1504 |
Second Generation Bluegrass |
● CD $15.98 |
Re-released with new packaging including 12 page booklet and
newly remastered. Ricky and Keith were just kids when they cut this one in
1971, while they were still touring with Ralph Stanley's Clinch Mountain
Boys (who back them here--with Roy Lee Centers on guitar and Curly Ray
Cline on fiddle). Their love for the Stanley Brothers sound, combined with
their harmonizing, led Ralph to perform songs he hadn't done since his
brother Carter Stanley died in 1967. The two are young, but the potential
is clear. Don't Cheat in Our Hometown, the same song Skaggs took to
# 1 in 1983, leads off. All I Ever Loved Was You came from Ricky's
mom and Son of Hobert was an instrumental tribute to Ricky's
father. Keith plays a tantalizing instrumental f Wildwood Flower
and together they tackle two Stanley vocal chestnuts: Memories of
Mother and This Weary Heart You Stole Away. If you want to know
where the two of them started, this will answer your questions. (RK)
|
Back To Country Music Index
|
